If you see a butterflyfish alone, chances are it is looking for its partner. With the exception of a few loner species, most of these fishes pair off early and will search for each other when they get separated. Butterflyfishes and their relatives, the angelfishes, are among the most colorful fishes you can see in coral reefs. Both families are deep-bodied, disk-shaped fishes that look quite similar, except that angelfishes have large spines on their cheekbones.
Look For: A large, disk-shaped butterflyfish with a black spot surrounded by a white ring located below rear of dorsal fin. Narrow lines on sides forming Vs.

Length: 3".

Habitat: Coral reefs and other inshore habitats.

Range: Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and southward.